MKs in Paradise

Last week I got back from a trip to Tanzania's capital, Dodoma.  Literacy and Scripture Use workers from all of our locations in Tanzania and Uganda met there for a workshop, and I went along with the Gilmore family to teach their kids during the week.  Dodoma is tiny compared the the country's biggest city, Dar es Salaam.  But being the administrative center has its perks, especially for us small-towners.  For me, our outings were doubly fun, because I got to experience them alongside some wonderful kids who don't often get treats like these.

Restaurants--that's what we were looking forward to.  Nor were we disappointed!  As soon as our caravan pulled into Dodoma (after a two-day road trip), we headed straight to the Chinese restaurant(!) at this big hotel to satisfy our munchies.  The Gilmores and I made it back for dinner one evening, too.

Then there was the Pizzeria.  An Italian couple doing orphanage work in Dodoma opened up a restaurant last year--and we are so grateful to them!  Aside from fabulous food, the place is also the home of The Awesome Playground (Braden's title).

We could even go to an ice cream parlor!  Called "Aladdin's Palace," it offers themed soft serve ice cream, such as the favorite "Jasmine's Jewels."

Thanks to our friend and colleague Marcia, the kids also got to play on a Wii--something they'd tried only once before.

With only four full days in Dodoma, it was hard work to pack in everything we wanted to do.  But we rose to the occasion!  Our only regret was missing a return visit to the pizza place (and Awesome Playground).  So I'd say we did a pretty good job.

Even the car trip itself had its highlights.  (These kids are used to lots of car travel.)  The shot below was taken during one of the road's lowlights... a 40-mile stretch where you drive on the bumpy ground beside the under-construction road.  It took about 2 hours.  So we had plenty of time to discover each other's music.  Here is the Tirzah & Camden band--a lip sync, air guitar spectacular.  Stuffed animals joined in later.

One more treat:  In Mwanza (3 hours from Musoma--almost home!) I had my first cheeseburger since August.  That thing was gone fast!

Rains Come with a Vengeance

"So, did the rain cause problems at your house last night?"

That was the standard question around town yesterday.  We are in the second rainy season now; the first was strong from November through mid-January.  In general, rain is welcomed here.  Even as it renders the dirt roads impassable, people are still thankful, for the sake of their crops.  But the duration and strength of the first rains pushed the limit.  One of my night guards descibed the trouble he and his wife were having keeping water out of their (mud brick) house.  As he put it, "The rains are good, we need the rain.  But if they don't stop soon, we won't have a place to live anymore."

After a mostly-dry season of about a month, the rains are back, and Wednesday night's storm was the hardest yet, I think.  It picked up around 10:00, as I was getting ready for bed.  Listening to the wind, I unplugged electronics, and sure enough, the power went out soon after.  I also made certain all my windows were closed, and I cleared things out from in front of doorways.  Previous rains have shown me what to expect in this house.  I did not expect enough, though.  After a five minute trip to the bathroom, I discovered water seeping under the front door had made it all the way down the hall, around the turn, and into my room.  As I ran around looking for towels or even sheets to sop up the water, the vehemence of the storm lashing against the house made me tremble.  I was reminded of hurricane season in Houston.  The house was pelted with such strong thuds, I wondered if the rain had been joined by hail.  That was confirmed by others the next day.

Although the storm brought me plenty of excitement, I was glad my little containable stream of water was all I had to deal with.  Our translation offices had a couple rooms under water, I hear.  My coworkers got plenty of water inside, but on top of that, the torrents rushing down from the road plowed deep into the ground and tore up the foundations of one section of their courtyard wall, pulling down their front gate.  What a mess.  Apart from the major concerns, I was also saddened by the state of their beautiful garden--flowers flattened, seedlings swept away.  Small things have their own poignance.

It's the truly big things I can't get my mind around.  Mud brick is indeed the common method of house construction; it's not hard to imagine what can happen in a good storm.  I heard reports of collapsed houses, and each time one family was mentioned: three people who were inside their house when it collapsed--now dead.  There were rumors of others as well, and it's not the first time.  If I was momentarily afraid, even in my strong house, what must it be like to listen to a storm from within one of these little homes, knowing what it could do?

This isn't a large-scale disaster like Haiti and Chile have experienced, but for me, it's close to home.  It reminds me of the tenuous balance of people's lives here.  "The rains are good, we need the rain.  But if they don't stop soon..."